The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-02-11
ANOTHER RAILROAD HORROR.
Several Coaches of a Railroad Train
Go Off a Bridge Near Wood
stock, Vermont.
he Wreck Immediately Takes Fir
and Helpless Passengers are Burned
to Death.

last night met with n terrible accident near
Woodstock, on the Central Vermont railroad,
at about $50 o'clock this morning. The
train was detained here so it WIS about an
hour and a half late when it left here. 1t
consisted Of a locomotive, baggage cal,
postal car, two passenger coaches and Two
sleeping cars, and was running at the usual
rate of speed. When about 200 yards south
Of the end of the deck bridge near the old
Windsor station a broken rail was struck.
The locomotive, baggage car and postal car
broke away from the rest Of the train, pass
ing over the bridge in safety. The rest Of
the train was thrown from the rails and con-
tinued on the rOad-bed until it came near
the end of the bridge, but there it ran over
the abutment and all Of the cars fell into the
White river, fifty feet below. The gorge at
this point is frightful, and when the cars
went down there was a terrible crash.
AS soon as possible the detached
part of the train was stopped
and ran back to the scene OF
the disaster. The screams Of the I'M ured
were heartrending. Assistance also came
from the people living in the vicinity, and
everything was done to rescue and relieve
the injured. Soon after help arrived it was
discovered that fire had started in the first
passenger coach, and soon the entire train
was ahlaze, thus adding a new horror. Those
present We're powerless to stop the fire, and
devoted themselves entirely to attempts to
rescue those imprisoned in the wreck. The
rasCuers met another and unexpected obsta-
Gle in the heat, which had become so intense
that they were obliged to rellnquiSh their
efforts to save the sufferers, and were COM
PEELED to retreat to a place Of safety for
themselves, and to become unwilling wit
nesses of the awful holocaust In addition,
the weather was intensely cold, and the he
roic rescuers were hindered thereby in their
work. No water could be obtained with
which to check or extinguish the flames.
The Ice was several inches thick on the
river, and there were no appliances at hand
to raise it
The accident is the most terrible of any
that ever occurred in Northern New En-
gland. Charles W. Hosmer of Lowell, Mass,
who was on the train, states that he was in a
Central Vermont sleeping car. He says:
i can remember twenty passengers @ho were
in the car with me. There were five ladies
among them. l was awakened by the humping
OF the car. Then came the crash and all was
darkness. There were means and calls for help.
/ found myself pinned down by a seat which
Law across my hips, but / broke the window and
worked myself out on 10 the Ice. Il sDOulu G0lnk
the car dropped ~fifty-five feet. The other three
cars were also on the ice, having broken away
from the forward part or the train. A gen.
tleman who occupied the berth next to
mine was struggling in the ruins and I
succeeded in extricating him. Mrs, Pryden of
Montreal was in the ruins and underneath me,
and we saved her. 1t was necessary to tear her
clothing of 10 get her out. i was the first per-
son TO get out. A Mr.. Hutchins of Braintree,
Vt, escaped aud assisted in saving others. /
worked until / was so chilled / could do nothing
moro In a few mnmnntz after the par2 tOOk
fire, and amid the swirling flames, those who
were unable TO escape could be seen In the en-
brace OF death. could see the imprisoned
passengers either calling for help or insensible.
Out OF the twenty-five in my car, / personally
know that nine, at least. were saved. / saw two
OF those in my car in the flames. remember a
Montreal trappeur, who had been with his club
in Boston. He was accompanied by a lady. He
was saved, but his companion was lost.
soNE OF THE INCIDENTS.
A man was seen with q little child in his
arms on the bank of the river, both dead
The body of Pullman Conductor Burgess
was one. Of the first taken out 1t was not
badly mutilatei. The remains of the porter
of one OF the cars was identified by his
clothing and watch. The body of A. l.
Wesson was identified tonight In the
pocket of a blue dress coat was found a let
ter written upon a letterhead OF O. w. San
ford, agent Of the Moxie Nerve Food COM
pany, dated Washington, D. G., Dec. 80, and
addressed TO Dear Charles. The body of the
| OWHSI Ii SuDpOSGu 10 nave DccQ cnJlTclY
destroyed, and is supposed by travelling
men TO have been that of Charles w.
Sanford, formerly in the employ of s.
9. Chase x Co. of Boston. He was In the
Boston Pullman car. Al coat belonging to
Charles A. Hibard of Boston was found.
Miss p. IL Follett of Sharon, VT, proves not
to have been seriously injured. Most OF the
bodies recovered were taken to the village
OF Hartford and placed in an undertaker's
establishments T~hirty-nine bodies in all
have been taken out of the wreck, and only
five of this number are in any manner
recognizable. 1t will be impossible to tell
how many were in the train, as the con-
ductor had only begun taking up tickets
after leaving here. Many bodies have prob
ably gone into the river and under the ice.
WORSE N WORSE.
At this hour ~(midnight) thirtv-nine bodies
in all have been recovered from the wreck.
and 1t is positively known that AZ persons
persisted. One OF the wrecked cars on the
ice has not yet been overhauled, and it is
thought at least twenty bodies are in the de-
bris. Should this prove true IL will run the
list OF killed up TO. over sixty. This
will not include those which may
have been carried into the river through the
ice. The latest communication as to the num-
Der OF persons on the train places it az over
one hundred. When the last car on the ice
is overhauled tomorrow and further
identification takes place, a more complete
list will be obtainable, although IL Is thought
that a score of the bodies already recovered
are SO disfigured as to preclude any possibil-
ity of identification Many of the surviv.
ors will PROBABLY die of their wounds
considering the height from which the cars
fell and the speed with which the train wai
running. it Is regarded as a miracle that any
one escaped. The first passenger to escape
was Zeph Marquet, q French Canadian
boy. He was with his father
David Marquet. on the way from
Holyoke TO their homes in Canada
The boy sat three seats behind his father. ii
the third car from the rear. HI
was doing In his seat whei
he felt the cars shiver. In thil